3 Years by His Hospital Bed, He Chose Her

Chapter 8

Ethan stumbled into the basement room, but everything was eerily pristine, as if no one had ever lived there. It felt like his existence had been wiped clean, his belongings gone, his presence erased.

It was like he was just a stranger to her. She had always planned to leave.

He covered his face with both hands, choking on muffled sobs. Regret overwhelmed him, crashing down like a tidal wave, making it hard to breathe.

His fingers tightened around his phone until his knuckles turned white. What had he done these past few days?

He'd drowned himself in alcohol, drinking day and night. Only when he was drunk could he remember the Rachel who looked at him like he was the center of her world.

While cleaning, a servant stumbled upon a photo of Rachel and Ethan. Not sure what to do, the servant brought it to him.

Ethan took the photo without a word, his gaze falling on the image. One glance was enough to make tears well up in his eyes.

In the photo, both of them were smiling, happy. This was before the kidnapping, before Olivia had claimed so much of Rachel's attention. Back when Ethan, just ten years old, had promised to protect Rachel for life. Now, at twenty-seven, he had lost her. And it was his own fault.

I was resting in the hospital room when suddenly, the door burst open. A middle-aged couple stormed in, their faces twisted with anger, pointing at me as they yelled.

"We raised an ungrateful child!" the woman spat. "You can't stand seeing your sister happy, can you? You had to ruin their relationship!"

She reached out to grab me. "Rachel, go apologize to Ethan. Tell him you remembered wrong."

As she pulled at me, the pain in my wound flared up, and I gasped, unable to hold in a sharp breath. Only then did they seem to notice the bandages on my hands.

The woman froze, her hand dropping away. "Rachel... What happened to your hands?"

The man scoffed, "She's just pretending, always lying. She's not half the daughter Olivia is."

Jason had returned with a bottle of water just in time. He shoved the couple aside, stepping in between me and them, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"How generous of you two," he sneered. "Giving away your own daughter's credit to someone else. Why don't you just adopt Olivia for real?"

The man's chest heaved with fury. "Go ahead, keep acting like that!"

Jason's voice hardened. "You're disgusting. Making your daughter pay for your own mistakes. You don't deserve to be parents, let alone human beings."

He took a deep breath, his anger simmering beneath the surface. "Rachel doesn't remember you anymore. If you have any sense, you'll stay out of her life from now on. Don't dirty her world with your toxicity."

The woman's eyes widened, disbelief filling them. "Rachel, I'm your mother."

She reached out to me again, desperation in her voice. "We'll send Olivia away right now. Please, don't do this. Don't scare your parents like this."

I yanked my arm away, coldly meeting her gaze. "Don't touch me. I don't know you."

At the sound of my voice, her eyes filled with instant tears, while the man's hands trembled uncontrollably. They both instinctively moved closer, but I stood firm, my eyes like ice.

"Stay away," I warned. "Or I'll call the police."

They froze, as if unable to comprehend that the obedient daughter they once knew had turned on them.

Just then, an ill-timed ringtone broke the tense silence. The couple glanced at the caller ID, their eyes full of venom.

The voice on the other end was choked with sobs. "Mom, Dad, don't blame my sister. It's all my fault. I wasn't good enough."

The couple erupted in anger, shouting into the phone. "Stealing Rachel's life wasn't enough for you? What's this act supposed to be? Who are you trying to impress?"

"What right do you think you have to compete with Rachel? Get out of our house right now!"

Their voices were loud, trying to prove something to me, but all I felt was a rising noise in my ears. I pressed the nurse call button, and within moments, they were escorted out.